


Footwork is Key

by FallenFeathers



Series: Discovering Destiny [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur can't dance, Awesome Gwen (Merlin), Dancing, Dancing Lessons, Gen, Gwen is the best, Lancelot can play guitar, M/M, implied merwaine, observant Gwen, one sided merwaine, so can Gwaine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21895657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenFeathers/pseuds/FallenFeathers
Summary: Merlin asks Gwaine to teach Arthur how to dance.
Relationships: Gwaine & Gwen (Merlin), Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine/Merlin (Merlin), Gwen & Knights of the Round Table (Merlin), Gwen & Merlin (Merlin), Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Discovering Destiny [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1577164
Comments: 5
Kudos: 153





	Footwork is Key

Gwaine could tell that Merlin was doing his best to be serious about the matter, but that only made him laugh harder.

‘It really isn’t that funny, Gwaine.’ Even as he said it the knight saw him start to smile.

He took a long draught from his tankard in an attempt to quell his laughter. All around them other patrons were laughing, drinking, and playing games. No one paid much attention to one of the kingdoms knights drinking himself under the table anymore. Gwaine had become a familiar and welcome sight at this particular establishment quickly. They had the best ale in the whole kingdom as far as he was concerned. The loud, crowded tavern was either the worst or best place to discuss such sensitive topics.

‘Let me get this straight,’ Gwaine began. ‘Arthur needs to dance at this ball to impress the visiting king, and that’s a problem because Arthur doesn’t know how to dance.’ Merlin nodded. ‘So you, wise master that you are, thought I could teach him?’

Merlin rolled his eyes in response. ‘I’ve seen you dance. In the tavern, and on patrol that one time.’

‘One,’ Gwaine shook his finger at his friend, ‘I said we were never going to talk about that night again. And two,’ he ignored Merlin’s smirk in favor of taking another drink. ‘Tavern dancing is completely different from what the nobles do.’

Gwaine nodded, satisfied he had won the argument. He went to take another drink only to realize his cup was empty. Merlin deftly removed the cup from the knights glare as he continued their discussion.

‘You’re forgetting that I know you were raised a noble, and I’d hazard that such an upbringing involved learning how to dance.’

‘And you are forgetting that Uther was Arthur’s father. I doubt he would have approved of his only son taking a break from swordplay to something as frivolous as dance.’ Having won their debate, Merlin passed Gwaine a full tankard.

‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to bribe me, Merlin.’

‘This is blackmail!’ Gwaine protested the next day, as he followed Merlin through a seldom used wing of the castle.

‘It’s not my fault you weren’t able to pay your own tab last night.’

‘You kept passing me drinks!’ Gwaine shook his head. ‘You planned it. You knew I wouldn’t agree to this, so you made sure to keep the drinks coming until I wouldn’t be able to pay my own tab. Then you paid for it yourself and told me I could pay you back my agreeing to teach Arthur to dance. You devious little sneak you.’

‘Why Gwaine,’ Merlin smirked, ‘you almost sound impressed.’

Gwaine narrowed his eyes at his friend. ‘Sometimes I realize just how much I underestimate you.’

Merlin only shrugged. ‘Here we are. After you, Sir Knight.’

The knight rolled his eyes as he stepped into the room. There wasn’t much of anything in the room. It was almost empty, except for the odd piece or two of furniture that had been pushed against the walls creating an open space in the middle. Leaning against one of the walls was Arthur, who clearly had not been expecting to see Gwaine.

‘Gwaine? You got Gwaine to teach me how to dance?’

Merlin let out a long suffering sigh. ‘You were the one who didn’t anyone to “think less of you” because you don’t know how to dance. I figured since Gwaine doesn’t think much you anyway, that this would work.’ Merlin shrugged. ‘No offense Gwaine.’

‘None taken,’ Gwaine chuckled. Only Merlin.

‘Fine,’ Arthur huffed. ‘Let’s get this over with.’

‘One and two, and three and four,’ Gwaine kept time by hitting the box he was sitting on. Watching the pair step around, and on, each others toes was a hell of a site. Still in rhythm he corrected them. ‘And your hands should be light like a bird on a branch. And one and two, and three and four.’

Interestingly it seemed that Merlin actually knew how to dance himself. He was certainly staying in rhythm much better than Arthur. The princess seemed to notice as well, if his frown and increased frustration were anything to go by. This just increased the number of times they stepped on each others toes.

‘One and two, and three and four,’ he continued. ‘And Merlin doesn’t lead he follows like a girl.’

That got a laugh out of Arthur even as Merlin blushed with indignation. The manservant glared, likely considering ways to subtly punish them both later, until Gwaine prompted them to start again. Now would be a perfect time to step things up a notch.

‘One and two, and three and four. And twirly, twirly, twirly.’

Predictably, Arthur and Merlin tripped over each other landing in a tangle of limbs on the ground at Gwaine’s feet. He tried not to laugh as the pair attempted to untangle themselves. Arthur was grumbling that it was all Merlin’s fault, while the other responded with his usual cheek.

‘You’d think with all the time you spend training, you’d have better footwork, Princess.’ Gwaine was having an exceptionally hard time trying not to laugh now.

Arthur dusted himself off as he got up. ‘Yes, well I’ve been training with a sword for years haven’t I?’

‘Mmm,’ Gwaine answered.

They’d never get anywhere with things as they were. As much as Arthur and Merlin could act like an old married couple sometimes, often dancing around each other to do one task or another, actual dancing was something they were not well matched for. But maybe there was someone else who was.

The next night Gwaine made sure to get to the room ahead of Arthur and Merlin. He was sitting on his box when they got there, already in the middle of some disagreement. They really were like an old married couple sometimes, Gwaine thought, although he’d never dream of telling them that.

‘It’s the principle of the thing,’ Arthur was saying.

‘That just sounds like an excuse to make people do things they don’t want to do,’ Merlin argued with his trademark grin.

‘Shut up, Merlin, or I’ll have you put in the stocks again.’

Predictably the threat had no effect. ‘If you put me in the stocks, you’ll be out of a dancing partner.’

‘Somehow I think he’ll manage,’ a voice said from the open doorway.

‘Guinevere! What are you doing here?’ Arthur was so shocked by her appearance and struggled to find a way to hide his embarrassment.

‘A little bird told me you were in need of a dance partner,’ Gwen said, ignoring Arthur’s fumbling as she made her way into the room.

‘After last night’s disaster,’ Gwaine interrupted,’ I thought you might have better luck with a different partner. No offense, Merlin.’

‘None taken,’ Merlin replied, already pulling up a chair for himself.

‘Turns out Gwen here learned to dance alongside the Lady Morgana. Her dance partner for lessons in fact,’ he explained. ‘And she was more than happy to help teach you, Princess.’

‘Well then,’ Arthur prompted. ‘Shall we get started?’

That night went far better. There was still the occasional smashed toe, but Gwen took it with ease. Arthur turned out to be a much faster learner than Gwaine would have suspected, but he was still only just a passable dancer. It would take some work, and maybe some more help.

When Arthur arrived for his next dance lesson he got quite a surprise. He had expected to see Gwaine, Merlin, and Gwen, but the four others in the room were every bit as unexpected as Gwen had been the night before. Before Arthur could say anything Gwaine clapped his hands.

‘All right everybody,’ he said once he had their attention, standing on top of a chair. ‘As you all know, Camelot will be hosting a ball to welcome the envoys from Gawant in a few weeks; and as the best knights in the kingdom, we are expected to attend.’ Gwaine ignored the amused glances passed around the room at his theatrics. ‘Now the Princess,’ Gwaine bowed to Arthur, who shook his head, ‘understands that some of us may not have had the time to learn the art of dancing while we were studying the sword. So, he has arranged for me, a man of many talents, to teach you.’ He finished with a bow.

‘Lets see these talents then,’ Elyan challenged good naturedly, as the others chuckled around them.

‘If you insist,’ Gwaine responded. He turned to Gwen, who was doing her best to hide her amusement. ‘My lady,’ he bowed to kiss her hand. ‘May I have this dance?’

‘Of course, Sir Knight.’ Gwen followed him to the middle of the room.

‘Let’s show them how it’s done,’ Gwaine said so only she could here. He was rewarded with a mischievous smile that reminded him why he liked her.

As they took the first step, Merlin began kicking his foot against a box to create a beat that they could dance too. Lancelot took Merlin’s lead and started playing a cittern Gwaine hadn’t seen him bring in. They danced to the simple tune for a few minutes, ending with a perfectly executed twirl. Gwaine bowed to his dance partner as the others clapped and whistled.

‘If you’re all satisfied, I suggest we begin.’

Gwaine led Gwen over to Arthur and began pairing up the others. Percival with Elyan and Leon with Lancelot. There were a few moments spent on who would lead and who would follow, which was resolved by letting the taller individual go first and then switching at Gwaine’s direction.

Picking up Lancelot’s discarded instrument, Gwaine started strumming. ‘Ready? One and two, and three and four…’

The night went better than he could have hoped. The room had been a bit cramped with three pairs of dancers, but it forced them to be more aware of where they were going. Percival was surprisingly the most graceful dancer of all the knights, rivaling even Lancelot. Leon was good, and Elyan would be passable if he ever stopped looking at his feet.

Their group got together every few nights for the next few weeks to practice. The knights continued to improve, and Gwaine suspected that Arthur let Gwen lead on more than one occasion. By the time the envoy from Gawant arrived, Gwaine was confident that none of the Knight’s, or Arthur, would cause a diplomatic incident by stepping on their partner’s toes.

‘I’m surprised you aren’t dancing.’

Gwaine looked away from where he’d been starring to find Gwen had taken the empty seat next to him. She was flushed and a little out of breath from the dancing. He had noticed that while Arthur had been obligated to dance with the female courtiers from Gawant, Gwen had not been lacking when it came to dance partners. Now, it seemed she had managed to extricate herself for a break.

‘What was that,’ he asked.

‘I said,’ she rolled her eyes, ‘that I’m surprised I haven’t seen you dancing yet. I know for a fact that more than one Lady was hoping you would ask them to dance. But here I find you, probably the best dancer in the room, sitting by yourself. I have to wonder why.’

‘I didn’t want to deprive the other knights of their partners,’ Gwaine answered.

Gwen clearly wasn’t buying it, and the look in her eyes said she wasn’t letting this go. Stubborn and perceptive, Gwaine thought. He took a drink, waiting for her to say something else.

‘Is there someone specific you were hoping to dance with?’ She was fishing for a reaction. ‘Someone who either isn’t here, which doesn’t make sense because you could have easily invited anyone as a member of the Round Table, or someone you can’t dance with. But I’m not sure who that would apply to.’

Gwaine didn’t interrupt her train of thought. He didn’t think it likely that she would figure out his secret. Although, if anyone, he thought Gwen might be the best person to find out. While she continued to unravel the mystery, Gwaine let his eyes roam the room again. Most of the guests were dancing, a few ladies were grouped together waiting for their turns. It was late enough that the older nobles had already left to their beds and the servants had started to clean up around the ballroom. HIs eyes settled on a corner of the room where a few of the servants had gathered to exchange empty wine pitchers for full ones. Although he couldn’t hear them, it was obvious to anyone they were laughing about something. Gwaine wondered what they’d been joking about and wished he was able to join them.

‘Oh,’ Gwen gasped. She must have seen where he was looking. ‘You know you could have invited one of the serving girls. I know Arthur wouldn’t have prevented you.’ Gwaine shook his head. ‘If it’s not one of the serving girls…..’ Gwen trailed off as she thought.

A mop of black hair broke off from the small group, making its way around the room to fill up the dancers empty goblets. Gwaine watched as the dark head stopped to talk to one of the knights who had extricate himself from the rest of the dancers.

‘That just leaves…’ Gwen looked at Gwaine and followed his gaze to see who Lancelot was talking to. ‘Merlin.’

Sighing, Gwaine nodded. The more time he spent in Camelot, the more he thought about Arthur’s manservant. Of course, he’d been thinking about Merlin since the first time they had met if he was honest with himself.

‘He doesn’t know.’ If Arthur didn’t marry Gwen, Gwaine just might have to fight him. ‘Why haven’t you told him?’

‘You’ve seen how devoted Merlin is to Arthur. And you know as well as I do that Arthur needs Merlin, whether he’ll admit it or not. I won’t get in the way of that.’

Gwen frowned. ‘I won’t pretend not to understand what you mean, but I’m not sure that justifies anything.’ She looked up as the music ended and the dancers separated, marking the end of the night’s festivities. Before anyone came to wish them good night, Gwen turned back to Gwaine. ‘I won’t say anything else if you don’t want me to, but if you ever need to talk you know where to find me.’ She kissed him on the cheek as she stood to leave. ‘Goodnight, Sir Gwaine.’

Getting up himself, Gwaine kissed her hand. ‘Goodnight, Lady Guinevere.’


End file.
